The city’s chief medical examiner defended a high-ranking official who carelessly left a laptop containing 9/11-related files – including photos of physical remains – in a car that was broken into, but stopped short of apologizing to victims’ relatives.

In a letter to relatives of those killed, Dr. Charles Hirsch explained how the laptop belonging to Frank DePaolo was lost, and what type of information it contained.

But he urged family members “to keep in mind not only did Mr. DePaolo do nothing wrong, he is a dedicated employee who has been working 6 to 7 days a week on this project for many months.”

The letter of explanation was sent after family members expressed dismay that they learned of the theft only by reading about it in The Post.